As black bear population rises in North Carolina, more bear sightings in populated areas

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As black bear population rises in North Carolina, more bear sightings in populated areas

By Leoneda Inge,

Rachel McCarthy

Published April 2, 2025 at 1:00 PM EDT

Black bear sightings are up in North Carolina, including in cities and in suburban backyards. Colleen Olfenbuttel of the NC Wildlife Resources Commission joins us to talk about where you might find black bears and what to do if you encounter one.

This encore edition of Due South originally aired in June 2024.

Guest

Colleen Olfenbuttel, Wildlife Biologist, Game and Furbearer Program, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission

Due South

Leoneda Inge

Leoneda Inge is the co-host of 瓜神app's "Due South." Leoneda has been a radio journalist for more than 30 years, spending most of her career at 瓜神app as the Race and Southern Culture reporter. Leoneda鈥檚 work includes stories of race, slavery, memory and monuments. She has won "Gracie" awards, an Alfred I. duPont Award and several awards from the Radio, Television, Digital 瓜神app Association (RTDNA). In 2017, Leoneda was named "Journalist of Distinction" by the National Association of Black Journalists.

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Rachel McCarthy

Rachel McCarthy is a producer for "Due South." She previously worked at 瓜神app as a producer for "The Story with Dick Gordon." More recently, Rachel was podcast managing editor at Capitol Broadcasting Company where she developed narrative series and edited a daily podcast. She also worked at "The Double Shift" podcast as supervising producer. Rachel learned about audio storytelling at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. Prior to working in audio journalism, she was a research assistant at the Aspen Institute in Washington, DC.

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